Bouzouki

Classification	Plucked string instrument Necked bowl lutes String instruments
Related instruments
Pandura Byzantine Lyra Tambouras Bouzouki Baglamas (Saz)

The bouzouki (Greek: μπουζούκι pronounced [buˈzuki]; plural: μπουζούκια) is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but pitched lower. There are two main types of bouzouki. The three-course has three pairs of strings (known as courses), and the four-course has four pairs of strings.

Name[link]

Bouzouki in Turkish means "broken (from Turkish: bozuk), not functioning, modified." Here it is used in order to specify the size of the instrument, because of its modified (not proper) nature. It might be concluded, therefore, that the bouzouki has been named after the jargon of the Greek tamboura named saz, by the Greeks living in Turkey.^{[citation needed]} An alternative popular etymology maintains that the word bouzouki was used because different tunings are required for the instrument to play in different musical scales known as Dromoi in Greek or Maqam. ;"Around the turn of the 20th century in Athens and Piraeus musicians adapted the saz to their needs, replacing the tied frets with metal frets like those of mandolins and guitars , and in the process abandoning the 1/4 tone system for the Western equal-tempered tuned chromatic scale. By the 20's they had further changed the construction from solid carved saz bodies to mandolin-like bowl backs and had also added machine pegs, and settled on D A D as the tuning of the paired courses, the lowest pair including high octave double. The instrument was played with Greek guitars and a miniature version of itself tuned an octave higher. These instruments both are kind of transformation of ancient Greek Pandoura , the larger version called bouzouki and the diminutive baglamas.

History[link]

Bouzouki in the Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments in Athens

The origin of Bouzouki as a descendant of ancient Greek and eastern instruments, locates in ancient Greece,^[1] where there had been an instrument known as the pandura or pandourion, also called the "trichordo" because it had three strings; it was the first fretted instrument known, forerunner of the various families of lutes worldwide.^[2] The source of our knowledge about this instrument is the Mantineia marble (4th century BC), now exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, depicting the mythical contest between Apollo and Marsyas, where a pandura is being played by a muse seated on a rock.^{[citation needed]} The three-string, also known by the Hellenized name of Pandoura, refers primarily by lexicographers Pollux (2nd century AD) Hesychios, the Athenian and Nicomachus and Shown in clay figurines of 330-200 BC in the hands of women.

From Byzantine times it was called pandouras and then tambouras (Elizabeth Jeffreys, John Haldon, Robin Cormack, The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies, Oxford University Press, 2008, p928. Cf. Nikos Maliaras, Byzantina mousika organa, EPN 1023, ISΒN 978-960-7554-44-4). On display in the National Historical Museum of Greece is the tambouras of a hero of the Greek revolution of 1821, General Makriyiannis.

the tambouras of Yannis Makriyannis in the National Historical Museum, Athens

Other sizes have developed and include the Greek instrumental Tzouras, smaller in size than the standard.^[3]

The early bouzoukia were mostly three-string (trichordo), with three courses (six strings in three pairs) and were tuned in different ways, as to the scale one wanted to play.^{[citation needed]}

At the end of the 1950s, four-course (Tetrachordo) bouzoukia started to gain popularity. The four-course bouzouki was made popular by Manolis Chiotis who also used a tuning akin to standard guitar tuning, which made it easier for guitarists to play bouzouki, even as it angered purists. The first recording was made in 1958.^{[citation needed]}

The Irish bouzouki, with four courses, a flatter back, and differently tuned from the Greek bouzouki, is a more recent development, dating back to the 1960s.The Irish bouzouki became popular around the same time, with four pairs of strings and a flatter back.^{[citation needed]}

The Three-course Bouzouki (Trichordo)[link]

Greek trichordo bouzouki

A close up of the headstock of a trichordo bouzouki. Two of these eight tuners are not strung.

This is the classical type of bouzouki that was the mainstay of most Rebetiko music. It has fixed frets and it has 6 strings in three pairs. In the lower-pitched (bass) course, the pair consists of a thick wound string and a thin string tuned an octave apart. The conventional modern tuning of the trichordo bouzouki is Dd-aa-dd. This tuning was called the "European tuning" by Markos Vamvakaris, who described several other tunings, or douzenia, in his autobiography. The illustrated bouzouki was made by Karolos Tsakirian of Athens, and is a replica of a trichordo bouzouki made by his grandfather for Markos Vamvakaris and became more famous from Manolis Chiotis. The absence of the heavy mother of pearl ornamentation often seen on modern bouzoukia is typical of bouzoukia of the period. It has tuners for eight strings, but has only six strings, the neck being too narrow for eight. The luthiers of the time often used sets of four tuners on trichordo instruments, as these were more easily available, since they were used on mandolins.^{[citation needed]}

The Four-course Bouzouki (Tetrachordo)[link]

This type of bouzouki has 8 metal strings which are arranged in 4 pairs, known as courses, typically tuned Cc Ff aa dd (i.e., one whole step below the four high strings of a guitar). In the two higher-pitched (treble) courses, the two strings of the pair are tuned to the same note. In the two lower-pitched (bass) courses, the pair consists of a thick wound string and a thin string tuned an octave apart. These 'octave strings' add to the fullness of the sound and are used in chords and bass drones (continuous low notes that are played throughout the music). The guitar-like tuning was introduced by composer and soloist Manolis Chiotis, who found it better suited to the kind of virtuoso playing he was famous for. Traditionalists shun the 4-course as they feel it alters the character of the instrument.^{[citation needed]} Many musicians such as the aforementioned Chiotis and Giorgos Zampetas began using specially designed pickups to achieve a slightly thicker humbucker-like sound in the mid-1960s. These pickups are widely used by several Greek artists today and came in active and (usually) passive versions.^{[citation needed]}

The Greek Baglamas[link]

The Greek baglamas (Greek μπαγλαμάς) or baglamadaki (Greek μπαγλαμαδάκι), is very different from the Turkish bağlama. The treble bouzouki is pitched an octave higher (nominally D-A-D), with unison pairs on the four highest strings and an octave pair on the lower D. Musically, the baglamas is most often found supporting the bouzouki in the Piraeus style of rembetika.

Notable bouzouki players[link]

• Manolis Chiotis
• Steve Earle
• Giannis Tatasopoulos
• Babis Tsertos
• Vassilis Tsitsanis
• Markos Vamvakaris
• Nikos Vrachnas
• Giorgos Zampetas
• Dónal Lunny

See also[link]

• Greek music
• Greek folk music
• Laouto, another Greek lute
• Stringed instrument tunings
• Rebetiko
• Laiko
• Tzouras
• Irish bouzouki

Related Instruments[link]

• Baglamas
• Pandura
• Mandolin

Reference List[link]

Further reading[link]

• Richards, Tobe A. (2007). The Greek Bouzouki Chord Bible: CFAD Standard Tuning 1,728 Chords. United Kingdom: Cabot Books. ISBN 0-9553944-8-1 ISBN 13: 978-0-9553944-8-5.  —

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bouzoukis

v t e Greek musical instruments String Instruments Bowed instruments Byzantine lyra Contrabass Cretan lyra Pontian lyra Violin Plucked instruments Baglamas Bouzouki Karantouzeni Kanonaki Kithara (modern) Laouto Lavta Lute Mandola Mandolin Oud Piano Psaltery Tambouras Thaboura Tzouras Struck instruments Santouri Aerophones Woodwind instruments Aulos Askomandoura Dankiyo Gaida Tsampouna Floghera Flute Karamuza Klarino Lalitsa Mantura Souravli Brass instruments Trumpet Free reed Accordion Harmonica Percussion instruments Membranophones Daouli Tambourine Toubeleki Tympano Idiophones Cochilia Crotalum Koudounia Metallophone Spoon Trigono Zilia See also Music of Greece Greek folk music Byzantine music Rebetiko Laïko Greek dances

Me and My Girl is a musical with book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose and music by Noel Gay. It takes place in the late 1930s in Hampshire, Mayfair, and Lambeth.

The musical had a successful original run on the West End in 1937 and very successful revivals in both London and New York in the 1980s. The show stopper, “The Lambeth Walk”, was the subject of a news story in The Times of October 1938: “While dictators rage and statesmen talk, all Europe dances — to The Lambeth Walk.”

A film version was produced in 1939, titled The Lambeth Walk.

Production history[link]

It originally opened at the West End Victoria Palace Theatre on December 16, 1937, and starred Lupino Lane. Lane had previously played Bill Snibson in a horseracing comedy play, Twenty to One, that opened in 1935. Me and My Girl was conceived as a fresh vehicle for the character.^{[citation needed]}

At first attracting little notice, the production gained immediate success after a matinee performance was broadcast live on BBC radio, following the cancellation of a sporting event. On May 1, 1939, a performance was televised from the theatre, one of the first times such was done. The original West End production ran for 1,646 performances.

It was revived in 1952. In 1984, a revised production opened at the Leicester Haymarket Theatre with a revised script by Stephen Fry and contributions by Mike Ockrent. It transferred to the West End Adelphi Theatre on February 12, 1985 and closed on January 16, 1993 after an eight year run and 3,303 performances. It starred Robert Lindsay as Bill Snibson, Emma Thompson, and Frank Thornton. The production won two Olivier Awards: Musical of the Year and Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Musical (Robert Lindsay).^[1][2] Cast changes included : Enn Reitel (as Bill Snibson) and Su Pollard (as Sally Smith) in 1986; Gary Wilmot (as Bill Snibson) and Jessica Martin (as Sally Smith) in 1989. Thornton was succeeded by Nicholas Smith. The production subsequently toured throughout Britain.

The revised London production opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on August 10, 1986, and closed on December 31, 1989, after 1,420 performances. Directed by Mike Ockrent with choreography by Gillian Gregory, the cast starred Robert Lindsay and Maryann Plunkett, with George S. Irving and Jane Connell. The production was nominated for 13 Tony Awards and won for Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Choreographer. Jim Dale succeeded Lindsay in the lead role of Bill.^[3] Tim Curry played Bill Snibson in the extensive US Tour that followed the Broadway run.

Numerous productions have been staged over the years all across the UK. In 1997 it even appeared at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre for a limited run with Adam Schumacher as Bill Snibson.

A 70th anniversary production of Me and My Girl had an eight-month British tour during 2006-07.^[4] It was directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle with a cast including Richard Frame (Bill Snibson), Faye Tozer (Sally Smith), Sylvester McCoy, Trevor Bannister and Dillie Keane.

The original star of Me And My Girl, Lupino Lane, was commemorated at The Actors Church, Covent Garden on Tuesday 10 November 2009 by The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America.

Sheffield Theatres, United Kingdom produced a revival of 'Me and My Girl' at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield with previews beginning 2 December 2010 until 29 January 2011. An expected transfer to London's West End was scrapped due to there not being a venue available.^[5]

Plot[link]

Act I

In the 1930s, the Harefords, a family of haughty aristocrats, are seeking the legitimate heir to the title of Earl of Hareford. Bill Snibson, a Cockney from Lambeth is found and named as the long-lost “Earl of Hareford”. It seems that the 13th Earl had secretly and briefly wed a girl from a bad neighborhood. But Bill's rough Cockney ways do not satisfy the Will of the last Earl: In order to gain his inheritance of the title and estate, Bill must satisfy the very proper executors (Maria, Duchess of Dene, and Sir John Tremayne) by learning gentlemanly manners. The Duchess thinks that she can make Bill “fit and proper”, but not his Cockney girlfriend, Sally Smith. The Duchess plans a party in Bill's honour, but Sally is not to be invited. Sir John tells Sally that she and Bill ought to return to Lambeth, but he is moved by Sally's heartfelt declaration of love for Bill.

At the party, Bill puts on airs and tries to please his new-found upper-class lawyers, family and servants, but his everyman roots quickly begin to show. Sally shows up in inappropriate garb, with her Lambeth friends, saying that she is going back to where she belongs. Bill seconds this at first but then teaches the nobility The Lambeth Walk.

Act II

Bill must make a speech in the House of Lords in coronet and “vermin”-trimmed peer's robes. Sally leaves, telling him to marry someone with good blood, and, in a scene inspired by Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore, the portraits of Bill's ancestors awaken to remind him of his noblesse oblige.^[6] Bill and Sally have gained an ally in Sir John, who offers to help them by engaging a speech professor who will help Sally impress the Duchess.

Bill constantly bemoans his separation from Sally. Preparing another party for Bill, the Duchess realises how much Sally means to him. This puts her in a romantic mood, and she accepts an offer of marriage from Sir John. Bill, dressed in his old outrageous Cockney clothes, declares that he's going home and goes upstairs to pack. Just then, Sally astonishes everyone by arriving in an elegant gown and tiara and speaking with a perfect upper-crust accent. When Bill returns downstairs, Sally conceals her identity. When she reveals it, Bill is relieved and the couple gain the acceptance of the family.

Musical numbers[link]

Based on the 1986 Broadway production

Characters[link]

• Bill Snibson - a cockney costermonger who inherits Lord Hareford's land and titles.
• Sally Smith - Bill's sweetheart.
• Sir John Tremayne - an older gentleman, who is kind to Sally and Bill. He is in love with the Duchess.
• The Duchess of Dene - an intimidating aristocrat. Bill's Aunt.
• Gerald Bolingbroke - an attractive young man. He is in love with Jackie.
• Lady Jacqueline (Jackie) Carstone - breaks off her engagement to Gerald to pursue Bill.
• Herbert Parchester - the family solicitor.
• Lord Jasper Tring - an elderly and hard-of-hearing nobleman.
• Charles - a manservantoddities.
• Lord and Lady Battersby, Lady Brighton, The Honourable Margaret Aikington, Charles Boulting-Smythe - other members of the family who are mostly interchangeable.
• Mrs Brown - Sally's landlady.
• Bob Barking - a friend of Bill and Sally.

Film adaptation[link]

In 1939, the play was turned into a film directed by Albert de Courville. Lane reprised his stage role of Snibson. The film took its name from the well-known song and dance. The film was a largely faithful adaptation of the musical and was commercially successful and popular with critics.^[7]

Awards and nominations[link]

London Revival 1984[link]

Original Broadway production[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Me and My Girl at the Internet Broadway Database
• Synopsis and production information at guidetomusicaltheatre
• NY Times review, Aug.11, 1986
• Me and My Girl (1939 BBC broadcast) at the Internet Movie Database
• The Lambeth Walk (1940) at the Internet Movie Database
• [1]

Grigoris Bithikotsis (Greek Γρηγόρης Μπιθικώτσης [ɣriˈɣoris biθiˈkotsis]; December 11, 1922 - April 7, 2005) was a popular Greek folk singer/songwriter with a career spanning five decades.

Biography[link]

Bithikotsis was born in Peristeri, Athens, in 1922 to a poor family. He became interested in music at an early age, and acquired a bouzouki as soon as he was able. At first, he had to hide the instrument at a friend's house and practice in secret, as his father disapproved of the new rembetiko style that had captured his son's interest.

He met composer Mikis Theodorakis in 1959 and the two collaborated producing folk songs. Bithikotsis composed over 80 songs, including: Stu Belami to ouzeri and Toy Votanikou o magas. He possessed a rich singing voice with which he performed his own compositions and those of Theodorakis, who frequently chose his friend Grigoris to perform his masterpieces. The two contributed greatly to the then-emerging laika style of Greek music.

A leftist, he was exiled to the island of Makronisos in the 1950s during the reign of King Paul.

Throughout his life, Bithikotsis performed frequent concerts at numerous venues, including one in Athens upon the occasion of his eightieth birthday. He died in Athens, in 2005, following 3 months of hospitalization. His funeral was attended by thousands, including representatives of all the Greek political parties.

Discography[link]

• 14 Hryses Epityhies N1 (14 Greatest Hits Vol. 1)
• 14 Hryses Epityhies N2 (14 Greatest Hits Vol. 2)
• 1950-1962
• 1963-1971
• 36 Hronia (36 Years)
• Apo tis 45 Strofes No. 4
• Alpha – Omega
• Chamenes Agapes (Lost Loves)
• I Ellada tou Grigori (The Greece of Grigoris)
• Episimi Agapimeni (Best Loved Songs)
• Gia panta No. 1 (Forever #1)
• Gia ton Grigori – I Synavlia to Stadio Erininis kai Filias (For Grigoris, in Peace and Friendship Stadium)
• Mazi (with Stelios Kazantzidis)
• Mazi me ton Grigori (Together with Grigoris)
• Megaloprepeia
• Mia gynaika fevgei (One Woman Leaves)
• Oktovriou 1978/October 1978 - with Mikis Theodorakis
• O Agnostos Theos (Strange God)
• Oi Magalyteres Epityhies Tou (His Greatest Hits)
• Ouranio Toxo (Rainbow)
• Prasino fos (Green Light)
• Sti Megali Leoforo (On the Broad Avenue)
• Stratos Dionysiou/Ta zebekika tou Grigori kai tou Stratou (with Stratos Dionysiou)
• Ta Afthentika No.2
• Apo tous thisayrous ton 45 Strofon (with Vicky Moscholiou)
• Tragoudia apo tis 45 Srtrofes

External links[link]

• Obituary in Kathimerini
• Se toyto to steno (Audio file)
• Enas alitis pethane (20:40) (Audio file)